of chicago



Sept. 3, 19.29. r I M PERSONS 1,726,584

BELLOWS CONSTRUCTION Filed May 10, 1924 Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LAWRENCE M. PERSONS, OF CHICAGO,`ILLINOIS, .ASSIGNOB TO COOK ELECTRICCOM- PANY, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BELLOWS CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed May 1U,

My invention relates broadly to bellows construction which hasparticular application to elastic piston pumps which effect the intakeand discharge by the contraction and expansion of the piston. Although Ishall refer throughout the present case to this particular adaptation ofmy invention, it is to be understood that my invention has broaderapplication and may be used wherever bellows lo are needed for anypurpose.

One aim of my invention is to provide an improved form of bellowsconstruction having a life greatly in excess of bellows heretoforeknown.

The wall of an elastic piston in the above type of pump is usually inthe form of an elastic membrane or bellows. The material of the wallundergoes alternating deformations at each'stroke of the piston, whichaction causes the material to become fatigued and hardened, and after acertain duration of operation, rupture of the piston is produced. Thiscrystallization of the material which inevitably appears, causes ashorter life in the piston, and is a considerable annoyance in practice.

An object of my invention is to construct the wall of the piston in sucha manner that the deflection of the membrane or bellows,

and consequently the resultant strain, is placed upon a portion wherepractically no crystallization will occur. I accomplish this feature bydividing the bellows into separately formed sections, the edges of whichare bent in opposite directions to` interlock alternately with thesections disposed above and below each section.

A further object of my invention is to provide a simple construction,which, in addition to overcoming the difficulties of the prior art,

mav also be cheaply manufactured and be exceedingly eflicient in itsoperation.

In order to apprise those skilled in the art how to practice andconstruct my invention, I

shall now describe an embodiment thereof in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a transverse cross sectional view of a pumpembodying my invention and illustrating a driving connection therefor inconventional form;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a section of the piston therein;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of another section 1924. Serial No. 712,177.

which cooperates with the first section for building up the fiexiblewall of the piston;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a similar view taken on line 5 5 of Fig, 3; and,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through Several of thesesections in inverted position to illustrate the manner of assembling thesame.

The pump 1, as shown in Fig. 1 and which I have chosen to illustrate myinvention in one of its preferred forms, comprises an open cylinder 2which is closed at its open end by means of a suitable plate 3. In thisplate 3 the intake and the outlet valves (not shown) are disposed in anysuitable manner, depending, of course, on the use to which this pump 1sput.

I/Vithin cylinder 2 a diaphragm piston member 4 is adapted to actuate.The Wall of piston member 4 is preferably in the form of an elasticmembrane o r bellows and is built up of a plurality of units 5, each ofwhich comprises an upper and a lower section 6 and 7, respectively. Thecircumferential upper edge of piston 4 is rigidly attached to plate 3,and consequently, the piston at this end is held againstmovement.

The present application is a continuation of my copen'ding application,Serial No. 641,669, filed May 26, 1923, in so far as the disclosureofthe elastic pump in my copending application is concerned. In thisprior application, a rigid connection with a piston is illustrated,thereby causing the piston to assume a slight transverse movement,aswell as a longitudinal movement when actuated. The advantage of thisform of drive is apparent. It permits a closer association of thedriving elements and allows the piston to be used in a place where aflexible joint between the piston rod and the piston itself would beprohibited. In the present case, this rigid connection comprises apiston rod 8 extending through an aperture 9 and into the interior ofpiston 4, rigidly connecting at l0 to plate 11, which forms the head ofthe piston. Connecting rod 8 pivotally connects to an eccentric 12disposed on a worm gear 13. Worm gear 18 is driven by a worm 14, whichmay be carried on a motor shaft 15, or any other suitable shaft. Fromthis description it will be seen that the drive by which piston 4 isdriven is simple and the parts of the same may be assembled in compactrelation.

As before mentioned, the piston 4 is constructed to resemble a bellows.This bellows is built up by the units 5, and consequently, the piston 4maybe conveniently made in any desired length without the additionalex'- pensc of different machines or tools. Units 5 are of standardconstruction and may be carried in stock to permit the construction ofpistons of any desired size. Each unit comprises the sections 6 and 7,which in blank form comprise aperturedsheet metal plates or rings. rlhesections are preferably stamped in two operations..` ln Fig. 3, theupper section is illustrated as provided with an inner circumferentialupstanding flange 17 which is joined to the flat horizontal portion 18by a curved portion 19. At the outer edge the material of the sectionisturned upwardly slightly at 2O and then over and downwardly again toresult in a circumferential flange 21 and a circumferential groove orgutter 22. rllhe lower section 7 may be formed with an outercircumferential upstanding flange 24, the edge of which is adapted toenter the gutter 22 in -the upper section 6.

The inner edge of section 7 may be provided with a downwardly extendingflange 25, which permits the formation of a groove or gutter 26. ',lheflange 25 is preferably curved away from the fiat horizon tal portion 27at a smaller' angle 'than the flange 24. Acurved portion 28, which joinsthe flange 24 and horizontal portion 27 of section 7, forms thepointabout which the inner part of section 7 may flex. The sameis truewith respect to the curved portion 19 oflthe upper section. Here the'outer part of section 6 is allowed to flex about the curved portion 19.The purpose of this arrangement will be presently described. ln`assembling 'sections 6 and 7 the flange 24 of the lower section isadapted to enter the circumferential gutter 22 of the upper section 5,which the flange 17 of the up per section is adapted to enter thecircum-V ferential gutter at 26 of the lower section 7 of the precedingunit 5.

ln llig. 6 l have illustrated the method of assembling the sections 6vand 7. The upper section 7 is first inverted and solder 30 is poured inthe circumferential gutter 26. rlhe lower section 6 is also theninverted and superimposed upon section 7 so that flange 17 will enterthe solder 30 and seat within the gutter 26. Solder is then poured ingutter 22 of sect-ion 6 and the next lower secvrigidly united. I wish topoint out when flanges 17 and 24 enter gutters 26 and 22, respectively,there is a tendency for 'the sol` der to rise on the interior walls ofthe sec- 4 without escaping to the interior of cylinder 'I 2. As beforeset out, this construction of the bellows tends to prevent hardeningorcrystallization of the metal, and consequently, the life of thebellows is greatly prolonged. lt is to be remembered that if the metalcrystallizes, cracks through which the lubricant may leak are apt toappear. The construction illustrated permits the bellows to be made ofany size without additional expense in the form of extra machinery ortools and besides provides a more durable arrangement withoutsacrificing in the flexibility of the piston wall. On the contrary, thebellows wall has a greater flexibility and the joints are not weakenedby the transverse movement of the bellows which results from the rigidconnection 10 with thc piston rod 8. l find that the diaphragm pistonmember4 will function with greater efliciency when assembled of thesections 6 and 7 in the manner disclosed than when the wall is madeintegral and corrugated, as was heretofore done in the prior art.

While have disclosed the present invention embodied in a piston, it isto be understood that the bellows shown in the drawings may be usedwherever desired and for any purpose, without departing from the scopeof this invention.

`Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully explain thegist of my invention, that others may, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt the same for use under varying conditions of service,without eliminating certain features which may properly be said toconstitute the essential items` of novelty involved, which items areintended to be defined and secured to me by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A bellows construction of the type described having its side walldivided into a plurality of sectional parts, each of which is fastenedto the sect-ions above and below by a circumferential edge engagement,said engagement comprising a gutter in one of the engaging sections anda cooperating fla-nge on the other engaging section.

v2. A bellows construction of the type described having its side walldivided into a plurality of sectional parts, each of which engages thesections above and below, said engagement comprising a gutter in one ofthe engaging sections and a cooperating flange on the other engagingsection.

3. A bellows construction of the type described having its side waildivided into a plurality of sectional parts. each of which is fastenedto the sections above and below, and is provided with a solder filledgutter lill) for the reception of a flange on one of the adjacentsections.

4. An expansible tube comprising a plurality of annular metallic disksarranged in pairs and secured successively to each other, the disks ofeach pair being provided with gutters, located alternately,substantially at the peripheries and substantially at the interioredges, to receive a flange on the adjacent disk of the same pair orflanges on the disks of adjacent pairs, said gutters receiv ing moltensolder into which said flanges are inserted during the assembly, saidmolten solder rising on the walls of said flanges when inserted, forminga substantial hermetic union between the disks when the solder hardens,said gutters and said flanges being arranged or formed on said disks soas to practically eliminate deflection and prevent crystallization ofthe metal at or near the union of said disks.

5. An eXpansible tube comprising a plurality of annular metallic disksarranged in pairs and secured successively to each other, each of saiddisks being provided with a gutter and an upturned flange, locatedalternately either' substantially at the periphery or substantially atthe interior edge, the gutters and flanges of the disks of each pair andof adjoining pairs being alternately located so as to engage the flangeof a disk in the gut-ter of an adjacent disk, and means for hermeticallyuniting the union formed by the engagement of the respective flanges andgutters.

6. An expansible tube comprising a plurality of annular metallic disksarranged in pairs and secured successively to each other, each of saiddisks being provided with a downturned gutter and an upturned flange,located alternately, either substantially at the periphery orsubstantially at the interior edge, the gutters and flanges extendingfrom the main plane of said disks at a substantial angle by means ofcurved portions integral' therewith, the curved portions adjacent saidflanges being curved slightly greater than the curved portions adjacentsaid gutters, preferably to permit the bending movement of said disks tooccur mainly at these portions of greater curve, said upturned flangesentering said downturned gutters, solder for holding said flanges insaid gutters, the union formed being free of bending strains resultingfrom said bending movement, the formation of said portions of greatercurve at a point between said flanges and the main plane of said diskstending to minimize all crystallizing effects upon said disks due tosaid bending movement.

7. An eXpansible element comprising a plurality of annular metallicdisks arranged in pairs and secured successively to each other to form afluid tight seal, said disks being provided at their peripheries and attheir interior edges with means for forming a seam between the adjacentdisks, said disks each having a curved portion, alternately located,either at the periphery or the inner edge to increase the flexibilityand to localize the bending movement of each disk substantially at saidcurved portion, thereby preventing a bending strain where said disks arejoined and minimizing the crystallization of the metal elsewhere in saiddisks.

8. An expansible element comprising a plurality of annular metallicdisks arranged in pairs and secured successively to each other, saiddisks being provided at their peripheries and at their interior edgeswith means for forming a union between the adjacent disks, said diskseach having a portion tending to increase the flexibility and tominimize the crystallization of said disks, and to prevent any bendingmovement or bending strain at or near said disks where united by saidmeans.

9. A bellows construction having its wall divided into a plurality ofsectional parts, and means for uniting said sectional parts together ina manner to prevent weakening of the wall at the union as the result ofrepeated flexing of said sectional parts.

10. A bellows construction divided into a plurality of sectional partsso united with each other as to prevent weakening of the material at theunion.

11. A bellows construction divided into sectional parts and securedsuccessively to each other, said parts each being of cup formation andhaving a flat portion with the edges thereof turned so mounted as toconfine the deflection of each part to its flat por tion.

12. An article of manufacture comprising bellows sections, each sectionbeing of cup formation having a flat portion provided with side walls ofcylindrical or conical shape so mounted as to stiden said walls andconfine the deflection of each section to its flat portion.

13. A bellows construction comprising a plurality of sections arrangedin nested rela tion and having the inner and outer edges thereofprovided with upstanding flanges adapted to be joined to the flanges ofadjacent sections.

14. A bellows construction comprising a plurality of sections providedwith inner and outer flanges, all being arranged substantially in thesame general direction, said sections being nested one within the otherand the flanges of one section joining the flanges of adjacent sections.

15. A bellows construction comprising a plurality of sect-ions, flangesformed on the inner and outer edges of said sections and arranged topermit said sections to nest one within the other, the flanges of eachsection joining the flanges of adjacent sections disposed above andbelow.

16. A bellows Construction comprising alternating sections, one havingan inner gutter and an outer iange, and the other have ing an outergutter and an inner flange, and means tor fastening the alternatingiianges in the alternating gutters.

1'?. An expansible and Collapsible eleinent Comprising sectional partewhich are joined at their periphery by a gutter on one of the sectionsand a Cooperating flange on the other sect-ion.

18. An expansible and collapsible elenient comprising sectional partewhich are joined together by a gutter on one ot said sections and aperipheral flange on the other section.

19. An eXpansible and Collapsible element comprising sectional partssecured to each other, each flexible section having a flat por tion withthe edges thereof turned in the saine direction whereby to @online thedeflection to said flat portion.

20. An expansible and collapsible element Comprising a flexiblesectional part secured to an adjacent sectional part, said flexiblesection having a peripheral ange secured in a gutter in said adjacentsection.

21. An expansible and collapsible element comprising sectional partsjointed together at their peripheries by a soldered joint, said jointcomprising a gutter in one section, solder in said gutter, and the edgeet the other section extending into said gutter and iinbedded in thesolder. 4

22. An expansible and collapsible eleinent comprising sectional partsoined together at their peripheries by a soldered joint, said jointcomprising an open top gutter in one section, solder in said gutter, andthe peripheral edge oit the other section extending into said gutter andimbedded in the solder.

23. An expansible and Collapsible eleinent comprising sectional partsjoined together at their peripheries by a soldered joint, said jointeoi'nprising a V-shaped gutter, solder in the gutter, and the peripheraledge ot the other section seated in said gutter and inibedded in thesolder.

24C. An expansible and collapsible element comprising sectional partsjoined together at their peripheries by a soldered joint, said jointcomprising a gutter in one section, solder in said gutter, theperipheral edge of the other section extending into said gutter andembedded in the sold-er, the solder rising up- Wardly of the side facesot the imbedded edge.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my naine.

LAWRENCE M. PERSONS.

